Hubby and I have been feelin’ a little rebellious as of late and have actually gone out on *gasp!* Monday nights!
Two Mondays ago, we went to the four-year birthday celebration for Feast in Decatur. This has to be one of my favorite restaurants in all of Atlanta, and definitely in our little corner of it. We’re on the email list and immediately jumped on the chance to help them celebrate four years of being open, especially since we’d get a special appetizer, free glass of wine, and a certain percentage off our bill. Teri Rogers, the owner, supposedly prepared the special appetizer, which was a combination of a little cheese fondue, chilled soup, and crawfish cake, and she did appear in an apron, so of course she was back in the kitchen, right? We amused ourselves with the thought of chef Melissa Fedorko bossing her around.
We enjoyed our complimentary glasses of wine, sparkling to celebrate the occasion, and ordered a bottle of the 2006 El Roy Proprietor’s Blend Red Wine. Oh, yes, it made me happy. Black currant nose, black cherry and a lil pepper. Nice transition to dessert at 15.2% alcohol. My efforts to figure out what, exactly the blend is beyond a Bordeaux, have not born any fruit, fermented or otherwise.
Ohyeah, we ate, too. Hubby had the Grilled Bistro Steak on Pita, and, ever mindful of my triglycerides (really!), I got the grilled vegetable pizza. Both were good. Of course I had to get the Kahlua cake for dessert:
Yeah, it was a good night. My only complaint was that the service was a bit uneven, and the bar got backed up. I don’t think that they were expecting the turnout they got.
This past Monday evening, Hubby and I went to a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at Agatha’s – A Taste of Mystery. I was really excited because I’ve been wanting to go there for quite a while, being a big mystery fan and writer. They serve a five-course meal, which includes appetizers as you gather, then seated soup, salad, entree, and dessert courses. A complimentary glass of wine is served with the salad course, and all other alcohol can be obtained at a cash bar.
The appetizer course, which was a hot and cold buffet, was probably the best course with a variety of hot munchies like fried mushrooms, cheese puffs, and nicely spiced mini meat kabobs, and cold cheese, antipasta salad, and crudites and dip. The soup and salad were average, and the entrees, for which there were four courses, were good but not great. Dessert got mixed reviews as well, but overall the kitchen did well for having to serve that many people all at once.
The mystery itself was entertaining, and it was obvious that the actor and actress were enjoying themselves. They did a good job of drawing the audience in, even those of us who didn’t have “speaking parts.” As for the wine, the red was a Cab, and it was definitely a red for beginners.
Overall, the experience was good, and I would definitely go back for the entertainment.
I popped my head in at Feast's anniversary party, but given the overwhelming crowd I decided not to stay. Oh, and it's not Chef Melissa in the kitchen anymore; she apparently left a little while ago to take a 9 to 5 job (still in the food industry, just saner hours). Apparently the new head chef (for now) is a New Orleans guy, which could explain the emphasis on crawfish of late – we had a good crawfish bisque at Sunday brunch (although there were some other uneven parts to the meal). Hopefully the new chef will settle in and hit his stride soon, and any quality/consistency issues will be rectified. It's still one of our favorite restaurants.
We had reservations, so we knew we'd get a table. Thanks for the news about the chef; a few more things make sense now, like how the timing just wasn't there that night. I thought it was because it was so busy.
Going tomorrow night for the benefit?